For a fleeting moment it looked like the Ohio Machine (2-8) were finally going to get off the schneid and put their five-game losing streak to bed.

Up 7-2 against the New York Lizards on Saturday night, the Sheens were red-hot on offense, scoring seven goals on 14 shots in the first quarter alone.

However, after that they cooled off dramatically, scoring only seven more points for the rest of the game and let the Lizards (5-5) snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, 15-14.

The loss marks the seventh in a row and continues the worst losing streak in the team’s history since coming to Ohio from Chicago in 2012. In both 2012 and 2013, the Machine had losing streaks of five games in a row. After last week’s loss at home to Denver, it was their sixth in a row and set the record for consecutive losses.

Head coach Bear Davis said an inconsistent lineup has lent to their woes.

“We’ve had our 11th different lineup,” Davis said in a quote from the team’s website. “We had two new guys come in and I thought they played well. Our veterans are trying to adjust to that but again, the rookies are starting to make big time plays, and guys are playing out of position a little bit, and they adjust to that. We moved (attackman Justin Guterding) to the X-attack tonight and he played great.”

After jumping out to the 5-goal lead, the Lizards slithered their way back in the game by getting past Machine Kyle Bernlohr for the first five goals of the second quarter to tie it up, 7-7. Machine rookie attackman Ryan Keenan put them ahead 8-7 right before the end of the half.

Heading into the fourth quarter, hopes were high that the Sheens were on their way to breaking their record-setting losing streak thanks to Guterding netting a hat trick and dishing out his second assist to fellow rookie Zach Bryant giving the Machine a 12-9 lead.

But the final stanza was all New York, outscoring Ohio 6-2 thanks to Lizards midfielder Joe Walters scoring a hat trick and all-star midfielder Paul Rabil getting a two-pointer between the pipes for a hat trick.

“We’ve just got to finish,” said Davis. “We’ve got to keep working to get better.”

Rabil led all players with seven points on three goals (one two-pointer) and three assists.

Guterding led the Machine with six points on four goals and two assists. Attackman Mark Matthews had three goals with Keenan and Marcus Holman each chipping in two goals and one assist.

New York attackman Will Manny finished with six points on four goals and two assists. Walters had five points on four goals and one assist.

The Machine’s next game is Saturday on the road versus Florida (4-6). Ball drops at 7 p.m.

Other Notes

The Machine announced on Monday, June 25 they will be putting on an event to attract beer drinkers and lacrosse fans alike, the “Gears and Beers Craft Beer Festival” and is scheduled for their home finale on Thursday, July 26.

The event will feature 10 Ohio craft breweries and kicks off when the gates open at 5:30 p.m. and will continue through the opening ball drop when they take on the Florida Launch which starts at 7:00 p.m. Ticket packages will cost $45 and fans will receive a general admission ticket to the game, access to the craft beer festival, a branded 5 oz. sampling mug, a Machine hat and 12 tasting tickets.

For more information on how to get tickets, access the team’s website by clicking here.

Graduate of THE Ohio State University school of journalism as well as the Ohio Media School (formerly the Ohio Center for Broadcasting). Andy has been with Columbus Wired since Feb. of 2015 covering everything from Ohio State football to the Memorial Tournament to the Ohio Machine. He also hosts his own podcast, The Buckeye Leafcast, which can be found on Youtube, Facebook, Twitter and right here on Columbus Wired.